A Ghosts Betrayal
by Deztructive
Summary: Set several months after the final film. The Story of Geist, a Prototype Machine Program more deadly than the agents. The summary/Background is there to give a better idea of where I'm going with this. Please Review. Chapters 1 & 2, 3 to follow.
1. Chapter 1

Ghost against the machine

Disclaimer:

The Matrix and all characters therein are the property of Warner bros and the Wachowski Brothers. Whilst I do create all of my original characters from scratch, some similarities and /or names of existing characters may crop up. This is not intentional.

This is not a story about Ghost (Niobe's 2nd in command) despite the title.

Summary and background -

Following the machine wars that culminated with the ascendancy of Neo and the final battle with Agent Smith, a new Matrix version began. This new era however did not bring about the end of all conflict within the Matrix's systems as was the expectation. Rogue programs still roamed the Matrix and the machines were forced to design new warriors to combat them and the newly confidant Zion. The soldier and Assassin programs was born. Gifted with a strength beyond that of the Agents and enhanced with a myriad of destructive powers intended to give the soldiers an advantage over any enemy and cut short any future insurrection the matrix could witness.

At least that was the concept they envisaged. The reality was the partial success of the Soldier Program and the utter disaster of the Assassin program . The soldier program produced merely three working prototypes, of the assassin type only one survived the process.

Both projects were further destroyed by the intervention of a sustained attack by a group of rogue exiles led by the Merovingian who sought to capture this power to be used for there own personal gain. Somehow they Succeeded, partially. The projects base was destroyed and the remaining assassin captured and contained. Unfortunately for all sides, one of the three Soldiers escaped due to his Brothers sacrificing there lives so the most powerful among them could live to avenge them.

His given name was Geist and he wanted revenge.

Chapter 1 – Escape

Cowardice. There was no other word for it.

He had ran whilst they fought for his freedom despite there pleas for him to do so. Worst of all, the Infiltration unit had been captured. This galled him the most. The soldiers were her Guardians, unique as she was and they had failed, his brothers dieing in the process. He put the thought from his mind, for now at least, and concentrated on what was needed to reverse the fate he, his brothers and sister had been dealt. He focused on the path ahead and opened his artificial mind to the world around him.

The military base that had been his home since creation was far behind him now, the miles of forest surrounding it cleared in little over an hour. The machines had programmed him well after all. He and his brothers were to be the elite, the infiltration unit the best.

The smell of the forest assaulted his senses mixing together with the choking smell of the smoking base that carried on a breeze and enveloped him. The creatures of this place were panicked into frenzy and they're calls were all around him. Geist was not concerned for them. He knew they were unreal, merely programs, so he could only find pity for them, nothing more.

A new sound carried from behind, an altogether more dangerous noise. The noise of a hunt. He risked the briefest of glimpses back and found his sight filled with the shadowy forms of the Merovingian's forces, the sinewy but lightning fast vamp types and the powerful but slower Dobermans behind them. He was more than a match for any and all, but it would be a useless gesture to stand and fight them. The Merovingian would simply send more. What he needed was the sanctuary of the city and it's urban expanse with which to outmaneuver them in. It was close, so very close, and he had a sizable head start.

In little time the first lights of the cities edge began to shine through the clustered trees that had been thinning for last few minutes of his flight . The boundary of the city was close, the cliff that marked it only meters away. The vamps were practically on him. But his pace was sure and powerful. They would not catch him. At the final moment he planted his right foot on the cliffs edge, the heavy soled combat boot pummeling the dust into a low cloud and loosening the dirt which cascaded down to the ground thirty meters below. He pushed hard and leapt high, his enhanced power driving him forward over the first small Industrial unit and carrying him over the adjoining street to land effortlessly on the unit opposite. The corrugated steel roof gave a little but held. He risked a further glance back and found the Vamps dropping gracefully onto the unit he had sailed over. He could only admire their spirit and they're perseverance.

He turned and continued his flight, using the rooftops of the surrounding low lying units as stepping stones towards the larger warehouses at the heart if the industrial quarter of the city. After another twenty minutes of deft jumps and roof punishing landings he decided that the time to stand was now. A sturdy looking two storied flat roofed building was to his right, it would be his battleground. He turned sharply, never losing his balance, and took a running jump towards another single unit using it as a springboard towards the place of his stand.

He landed and stopped dead a single step forward needed to steady himself. He turned slowly, eyes full of menace and arms braced in front of him in a defensive stance.

"Ready yourselves for death!" He bellowed to the advancing exiles. They had made up ground during his change of direction. Geist noted that the Dobermen were still far behind scrambling across the rooftops. He didn't have long before they would arrive. He eyed up the Vamp types who were close. Seven of them had kept up. Five more behind by a few steps. As they reached the final rooftop between them and the fight. They seemed to slow with hesitation before deciding they had numbers enough to take him on and pushing one last time to reach him.

The first two landed either side and approached him cautiously. Geist thought to dissuade them but he could see that the option was not there. He took the initiative, charging forward and landing a thunderous elbow to the closest Vamps jaw, cracking it with an audible snap. It fell back clutching at the wound but Geist would not let up. He moved swiftly to it's back and snapped it's neck cleanly with a clinical ease that forced the other leading exile to back off slightly in shock.

Geist dumped the body unceremoniously and switched his gaze to the three new assailants joining the forth. He weighed up his chances and took a leap back. Readying himself for the counter he knew would come. He was obliged and the bait was taken. One charged in from his right, hands in fists looking to strike high . Geist sidestepped, planted his left foot and pulled his knee up into a strike to the Vamps gut. It fell forward carried by it's own , gasping for air, before falling face first into the concrete rooftop. The exiles friends had also charged spurned on by Geist's defiance. They came in a crescent formation, Geist calculated the distance, stepped once and jumped high aiming a rolling horizontal kick to the middle exiles head, it collided and the exile fell, his neck crushed by the force of Geists kick. Geists momentum took him past the earlier arrivals into a roll towards the feet of a fresh batch of two only just arriving.

He extended a leg out and swept one from his feet. Drawing a knife from his boot immediately after and stabbing it down sharply into the vamps chest. Geist ignored the grunt as he dragged the knife free and rose to sweep the blade across the the chest of the fallen exiles partner. It was a futile gesture that merely ruined an expensive shirt and cut a light cut across the Vamp's chest causing it to take pace backwards. More importantly it gave Geist space and time. The other two Vamps were still turning as Geist jumped at the wounded exile driving his knife into the heart. AS he did so he was aware of the heavy footfalls as the remaining Vamps landed. Eight against one he counted. Tough odds, even for a Soldier like him.

He had one option remaining, unequipped with firearms as he was. It was risky but he had no choice. They approaching as one, the caution still evident, perhaps discouraged by the ease at which they're friends had been destroyed. A look at Geist would reveal that he had barely broken a sweat if indeed he was capable of such organic processes.

"You have served your masters long enough Soldier." Began an exile in the center of the group, his heavily accented voice twisting the words towards the sinister. Geist merely smirked. His face showing nothing but contempt.

"Your brothers are dead."He continued, the words increasing the anger in Geist. " And your sister is ours to mould and exploit. You are finished before you have begun. Join us, to resist is worthless." He finished a smirk crossing his lips. Geist extended a hand fingers outstretched, causing the exiles satisfied arrogance to become confusion .

"I have one more trick to show you, Carrion." Said Geist, focusing on the code that ran through the tailored shirts the exiles wore. He extended his will to the code using his hand as a focusing device and encouraged speed from it. It ran faster and faster yet at Geists mental demands, the molecules they represented becoming more and more unstable, mixing with the programmed air that bound them. To the unfocused eye nothing was happening but Geist could see the code. The Machine had designed him so and they had given him the slightest of powers over it. To speed it to instability. Instability that produced heat and when given the fuel of the materials code and the oxygen of the programmed atmosphere it finally produced...fire.

The Vamps screams as they were consumed by the flames that were suddenly upon them was deafening. Geist lowered his hand. The act had left him drained. He was powerful yes, but to manipulate the code used up energy. It had been a desperate measure given the Dobermen were not far behind. Having done this he could not fight them effectively. They were close now but the sounds of screeching tires, getting louder as the Vamps voices fell as the crackle of flame took over, gave Geist hope. Hope that the machines were watching. He had given them a beacon and he hoped it was reinforcements that were coming.


	2. Chapter 2

A Ghosts Betrayal

Chapter 2 – Betrayal and Death

With the Vamps Corpses still burning before him, Geist could make out the Dobermen's advance through the dying flickers of flame. Such a display had slowed them to caution but not stopped them. They were simply biding their time.

He would not run any more. It'd be a waste of energy. At the start of his fight he had the confidence that he could face the entire force. But the Merovingian had schooled his army well. Now, drained as he was from using his ability he was still their superior but only in a one on one situation. This would not be that. It would all on one. Without reinforcement he would be overwhelmed by the 12 exiles moving as one pack.

A prolonged squeal from behind him was the reassurance that he had not been abandoned. He sensed them somehow through the code. Agents. He stiffened his legs and braced his back. They would not start the fight but the Agents would finish it. This Geist knew and understood. The Dobermen were close now, the closest buildings separating them , as one they were baying and howling for his blood . He switched the grip of his knife into a back handed position meant for stabbing strikes. He put weight on his front foot in readiness of his first strike. He had a large area behind him to fall back into, and fall back he would, he'd have to. The guttural howls were closer now. They had to have reached the building by now, climbing it's walls, unable to leap like their vampire brethren.

A hand appeared from below the roofs edge. It gripped at the metal railing that stood above it, pulling it's owner upwards and catapulting the exile's squat frame up and over. Seconds later another appeared and did the same, followed by a third. The first was already moving forward the others catching up in an instant. The lead exile looked directly at Geist unfazed by the line of bodies it passed to reach him, a smile on it's face as he underestimated his opponents strength.

Geist once more struck first pushing with his back foot. He aimed high with his free hand balling into a solid fist It was an obvious move which the Doberman successfully countered with a high block. This left it open to Geists true attack a swipe of the knife across the ribs which cut deep. Geist pulled the knife back and shoved the exile backwards into his friends who caught him. The leads face showed his pain but also his anger. Unexpectedly his comrades pushed him forwards, his face now showing shock at their betrayal, followed swiftly by frustration as Geist caught him, turned him round and broke his neck.

The two followers came on, one to each side. More right behind them. Geist dodged the right hand exiles high kick, sweeping his knife at the exiles leg as it passed into empty space where Geist had been. The other saw the move and aimed low connecting with Geists back. The blow pushed Geist into the wounded exile. He caught his balance, planting a foot down solidly. The wounded exile did not have the same option , stumbling sidewards and still nursing his leg as he fell hard onto his side. Geist ignored him for the moment and turned to face the second exile who was grinning in celebration of his apparent victory.

Geist stepped forward a pace and made to act, causing the exile to flinch and brace himself. It had no chance as the slight crunch of debris underfoot and the rustling of a jacket was all that signalled the approach of a new foe. A gun was at his head and firing. Geist relaxed slightly, looking into the lenses of the Agent who had arrived. Two more were

following behind the first. He drew himself up and dusted the debris from his sleeveless body armour. An Agent handed him a firearm. Geist nodded hos thanks.

Orders were relayed to the agents from elsewhere and they broke immediately towards the other exiles gathering sheepishly at the near edge of the roof top. There were ten remaining to face the Soldier and three agents. Two instantly jumped from the rooftop, their cowardice taking them away from the slaughter that would come. Shots rang out as the Agents began firing on the exiles. Geist held back, his logic programming staying his hand, waiting for something the Agents had not foreseen to occur. The exiles split up and jumped sidewards hoping to dodge the shots. Some made it only to find themselves facing Geist. His foresight had paid off.

He raised the borrowed Desert Eagle and downed the first exile with a pair of shots to the chest The exile dropped to his knees cradling the wounds, a look of shock on his face. The machine it seemed had prepared these agents for fighting the Merovingian's troops, furnishing they're weapons with silver bullets to prevent regeneration in the exiles. Geists mind wondered to the status of the Vamps. Had he truly killed those not put to the flame. He had no time to think on it the next Exile was close. He fired twice at the exile, closed the gap and straight punched the Doberman to the ground.

In the same time the Agents had taken care of the rest with the same efficiency and were now approaching Geists position , firing additional shots into moving corpses that spasmed and died quickly. The Agents returned their guns to holsters as soon as the job was finished. As they approached, one of the Agents was already straightening his tie, A character trait the Machines could not fathom nor eradicate from the programming. Another held a finger to his earpiece. Something was said and the Lead Agent stepped over a body to face Geist.

"What are my orders?" he asked unknowing of what was said by their superiors. The machines it seemed had designed him to operate to his own logic and orders, giving him an unpredictability the Exiles and Zion could not hope to predict This meant he was not connected to the source as the agents were. The same could be said for his sister program, who's predicament returned to the fore front of his mind. " And what of the Assassin program, is a retrieval in process?" he added.

"There is not. The Assassin program has been designated failure and the program has been recalled to the source for deletion." Replied the lead Agent after a moments hesitation undoubtedly waiting for verification of the status of events elsewhere.

"What?" Asked Geist his voice rising. " She was untested. There is no reason to terminate." he replied, his words rushed, but the desperation evident. His Brothers had given their lives to speed his escape and now he was told his Sister program was deleted thereby removing the very reason his escape was needed. Before him the three agents were looking elsewhere, identically touching at earpieces with forefingers. As one the message ended and immediately the atmosphere changed. There were no more words only actions. Simultaneously Guns were drawn from unseen holsters. Geist took a step back.

"This cannot be. I have survived too much to be deemed failure." He protested.

"And yet you required our assistance to fight mongrels. You have failed Soldier." was all that was said before the cracks of three Desert Eagles. Geist tried to evade the shots dodging one but the Agents were too close. He took the remainder in the chest, his armoured vest useless in stopping the high velocity armour piercing rounds at such range. Falling backwards the code around became excited converging at the point of his impact. The last he saw were the three agents standing above him guns poised to complete the task they were given. The darkness took him before the shots were fired.

It was replaced seconds later by the green glow of the code rushing away and a new light at his back. He was turned by some force unknown to face it. The glare forced him to squint his eyes. But he soon adapted. As soon as he had however the glare faded and darkness was again around him. From nowhere a female voice sounded.

"Have no fear Geist, I have you now. My name is Shiva."


End file.
